Friction shock absorbing mechanisms



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 24, 1958 a Mm v m QM vb Inventor l/ernon$.Dam'e/s0n Sept. 20, 1960 v. s. DANIELSON 2,953,260

anon SHOCK ABSORBING MECHANISMS Filed on. 24, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I WmH W W \W i In ven t or Vernon $.Danielsan Un ted S ates Pa ent/07.1w .4

absorbing mechanisms and particularly to mechanisms of this characteradaptedfor use as-draft gears forrailway cars.

Unitary-draft gears-comprising a casing having a restricted frontopening necessitating, assembly of components from the rear thereofandemploying a removable rear wall for closing the open rear end of suchcasing areknownintheart, I a

The draft gear construction of the-presentinvention overcomesdisadvantages inherent in prior art constructions by attaining ahigh-strength rear closure construction while permitting ease of Rassembly and disassembly of the rear walLav p] a It is an object of theinvention to provide a two-piece rear wall 'which','-whenassembled withacasing, will be rigid and virtually ofone-piece construction.

, It is a furtherobject of this invention to provide a flanged casingwith a'ringfittinginteriorly of thecasing and having; lugs in abuttingengagement with thei casing flanges, and toprovide" a filler blockhaving tapered Isur+ faces fitting against complementary taperedsurfaces on the interior of the ring whereby outward movement of thering and filler block will be prevented while permitting inward movementof the filler block when it is desired to disassemble the rear wallclosure from the cas- In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustratesa complete draft gear with the rear portion broken away along sectionline 1-1 of Figure 2 to more clearly illustrate a filler member andrectangular locking ring;

Figure 2 is a rear view of the draft gear of Figure 1 and showing thefiller member, locking ring and rear edge of the casing; and

Figure 3 is an exploded isometric view of the filler member and lockingring according to the invention.

As illustrated in Figures 1, 2, and 3 of the drawings, the shockabsorbing mechanism of this invention generally comprises an outercylinder or shell C, a friction clutch 'D, consisting of a wedge andthree shoes retained by interengaging lugs (not shown) in the open endof the 1 cylinder C, a forward spring follower E, resilient means F, anda two-piece rear wall G.

Referring now in detail .to Figure 1, the front end of the mechanismincludes a wedge in frictional engagement with a plurality of frictionshoes 12 which are in sliding friction-producing engagement with theinterior surfaces 14 of the cylinder C which in this vicinity is ofhexagonal configuration. The surfaces 14 are inwardly tapered to promoteincreased frictional resistance to inward movement of the shoes 12 andwedge 10.

At, or slightly to the rear of, the termination of the tapered surfaces14, the hexagon configuration of the cylinder C merges into arectangular structure comprising integral top and bottom walls 16 and18, and side walls 20, 22. The rectangular casing thus formed by thewalls 16, 18, 20 and 22 houses a front spring follower 2,953,260Patented Sept. 20,1960

24 and a resilient means 26, preferably a stack of metal faced rubber.pads, in abutment with such follower 24, and engaging the rear wall G.The top and bottom walls 16 and 18 terminate in short, inwardly turned,centrally 5 interrupted flanges30 which have inner surfaces 32.formprovided with a pair of stop lugs ing shoulders limiting rearwardmovement of ring 34.

The ring 34 comprises integral top and bottom sections 36 and 38, andside sections 40 and 42., arranged rectangularly as most clearly shownin Figure 3; --Each of the top and bottom sections 36 and 38 arepreferably 44 spaced from each other and adjacent to the side sections40 and 42, respectively. In this fashion the space between each pair; oflugs 44 will accommodate an inwardly extending rib 46'centrally locatedin the top and bottom walls 16 and 18 in proximityto the rear edge ofthe casing when the lugs 44 are in shouldered engagement with theflanges 30. The ribs 46 thus reinforce and impart additional structuralstrength to the rear end of the casing. I The ring 34 is provided with ashoulder 48 extending continuously around the entire interior thereofand engageable with a complementary continuous shoulder 50 providedalong the periphery of filler block '52. In addition to the abutmentattained by engagement of the shoulders 48 and 50, one with the other,the ring 34 and filler block 52 have complementary tapered surfaces 54and 56 engageable with each other. I 7

From Figure 1 it will be appreciated that when the. resilient means 26is constituted by a stack of pre-stressed metal-faced rubber pads, therearmost pad will be in direct bearingengagemem against both the ring34and thefiller blockSZ and the lugs 44 will be maintained in tightengagement with the flanges 30. Likewise, the,

tapered seats'of surfaces5-6; and the shoulders 50, ,of-jthe: block 52will be in tightengagement withthe'compl'e mentary portions of the ring34. Although not shown in the drawings, it may be preferred to have theflanges, lugs, shoulders and tapers so proportioned that the pressureexerted by the resilient means 26 is applied primarily to the fillermember 52, and thus ensure a tight and rigid construction. This isreadily accomplished when a stack of rubber pads is used as theresilient means by increasing the thickness of the block 52 to projectinwardly slightly beyond the inner surface of the ring 34.

To assemble the mechanism, the cylinder or housing C is placed in anupended position with the rectangular end uppermost, the wedge 10 isthen inserted within the cylinder to partially extend through the openmouth of the hexagonal end. Shoes 12, three in number, are next insertedand placed in position engaging the wedging surfaces of the wedge 10 andcontacting the tapered friction surfaces 14 of the cylinder. The frontfollower E is placed in the same manner to contact the rear surfaces ofthe shoes 12. The resilient means F is then placed within the housing C.At this point in the assembly the resilient means F will project beyondthe open rear end of the housing C due to its extra length whichprovides initial compression when the device is completely assembled.The filler plug 52 is then placed on top of the resilient means F. Asuitable tool, or plunger (not shown) is placed through the rectangularring 34 and positioned against the outer face filler block 52. Thenecessary pressure is then applied to the tool to compress the resilientmeans a suflicient distance to allow the rectangular ring 34 to becanted for passage through the rear opening of the casing and into theinterior thereof. Pressure is then gradually relieved until the plug 52seats itself within the ring 34 which will then be permitted to engagethe flanges 30 by means of its lugs 44.

From the foregoing description, it will be observed that this inventionprovides a readily assembled or disassembled rear wall with a largeunobstructed opening for assembly of the internal parts, and thuspermits utilization of maximum interior space for thetprovision of themaximum size of resilient means whether it be a spring or rubber pads ofwell-known design ,Since certain changes can be made in the foregoingconstruction and diflerent embodiments of the invention can be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended thatall matter shown in the accompanying drawings describedhereinbeforepshall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitedsense.

I claim:

1. A shock absorbing mechanism comprising the combination of a casinghaving one end of rectangular configuration, force transmitting meansWithin and projecting from the other end of the casing, resilient meanswithin said casing, flanges on the rectangular end of the casingextending inwardly from opposed walls thereof, a rectangular ring membernested within the casing, outwardly extending flanges on two opposedsections of said ring and in abutting engagement with said casingflanges, a continuous shoulder on the interior, of said ring facinginwardly of the casing, two continuous tapered surfaces interiorly ofsaid ring, each of said tapered surfaces merging into said shoulder, afiller block nested within said ring, a continuous shoulder on saidblock facing outwardly and engageable with the ring shoulder, andtapered surfaces along either side of said block shoulder complementaryto and engageable with the tapered surfaces on said ring, the taperedsurfaces extending convergently toward the longitudinal center lineoutwardly of the casing.

2. A shock absorbing mechanism comprising a casing having a rectangularconfiguration at one end thereof, a pair of laterally spaced flangesextending inwardly at said end from each of two opposed walls of thecasing, an inwardly projecting centrally located rib on each of 4 a rsaid two opposed walls of the casing, force transmitting means withinand operable at the other end of the casing, resilient means within thecasing and engageable by said force transmitting means, a rectangularring within said casing, a pair of outwardly extending spaced flanges ontwo opposed sections of said ring and in abutting engagement with saidcasing flanges, a continuous shoulder on the interior of said ringfacing inwardly of the casing, two continuous tapered surfacesinteriorly of said ring, each of said tapered surfaces merging into saidshoulder, a filler block nested within said ring, a continuous. shoulderon said block facing outwardly and engageable with the ring shoulder,and tapered surfaces along either side of said block shouldercomplementary to and engageable with the tapered surfaces on said ring,the tapered surfaces extending convergently toward the longitudinalcenter line outwardly of the casing. i i

3. An end closure for an open-ended casing having flanges extendinglaterally inwardly thereof, comprising a ring member having outwardlyextending flanges engageable in abutting relation with said casingflanges, a continuous shoulder on the interior of said ring facinginwardly of the casing, also on the interior of said ring and flankingsaid shoulder, a filled block nested within said ring, a continuousshoulder on said block facing outwardly and engageable with the ringshoulder, and tapered surfaces, along either side of said block shouldercomplementary to and engageable with the tapered surfaces on said ring,the tapered surfaces extending convergently toward the longitudinalcenter line outwardly of the casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTSDentler Oct. 16, 1951 two continuous tapered surfaces

